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Consumer News and Advice Archive
Consumers don’t plan to buy homes anytime soon because they think prices will fall farther next year, mortgage rates will stay low for a long time and they’re very worried about their personal financial situation.
The second edition of the National Association of Home Builders/ First American Improving Markets Index (IMI), released recently, shows 23 individual housing markets now qualifying as "improving" under the new gauge's parameters. This is nearly double the 12 housing markets that made the list last month.
The index reveals metropolitan areas that have shown improvement for at least six months in housing permits, employment and housing prices. The following metros were listed in October:
National Association of REALTORS® President Ron Phipps recently released the following statement about the mortgage interest deduction, and bringing stability to the market.
Rand on Real Estate comes to national television. The Fox Business Network is running a new segment called "Where to Invest Now," featuring Greg Rand (
@gsrand), CEO of
OwnAmerica, as housing market analyst making his picks of the best real estate markets in America for investors. In this episode Greg picked Jacksonville, FL & Colorado Springs, CO.
Driven by a wave of FHA loans, applications for mortgages to purchase a home reached their highest level since May recently—but they still trail the 2010 application rate by more than 34 percent.
We’re all busy, pulled in many directions during our typical day-to-day routine, and more and more our days blur between work-life and home-life. Following are a few good smartphone applications that can help you save time while increasing your productivity:
Check It!
Professionals like you get the job done because you are organized, and one way to stay organized is with lists. Check it! is simple, easy-to-use and will keep you organized. Buy it for just $0.99 cents at the App Store (open iTunes) where you will find all of the apps mentioned in this column.
Nowhere is the benefit of technology more clearly illustrated than with the recent advancements in online storage capability. Working in the cloud is efficient, inexpensive and convenient. Having an additional copy of all of our data has allowed us to sell our servers and throw our IT guy’s business card away—
(MCT)—Losing your home, or worrying about losing it, is enough to make you sick, says a recent study that offers insight into the toll the foreclosure crisis is taking on homeowners’ health.
“Our findings prove yet again that economic well-being and physical well-being are connected,” says Princeton University economist Janet Currie, co-author of the study, published recently by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Of the approximately 4 million mortgages that are either 90 or more days delinquent or in foreclosure, the numbers that are delinquent 90 days or more has shrunk to levels not seen since 2008.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently urged Congress to proceed with caution and conduct a cost-benefit analysis before implementing any new regulations or requirements that call for the federal government to develop a National Ocean Policy, which the Administration is now contemplating.
Social media continues to evolve and be a powerful force and way to reach new and existing customers, clients, and markets. One of the biggest problems with this power vehicle is that businesses don't know how to take advantage of it.
"Business owners are spending countless hours online but wiping out,” says Starr Hall, social media strategist and author of The Social Wave: Why Your Business is Wiping Out with Social Media and How to Fix It. “They aren't reaping the benefits of their online outreach. If you fall into this category, it's time to change your social media approach."
Mortgage-related failures among lenders are down 42 percent this year from this point in 2010. The improvement is entirely due to fewer failures among federally chartered banks; mortgage-related losses contributed to the same number of nonbank mortgage lenders and credit union failures this year as last.
So far during 2011, the casualty list of banks that have failed due to mortgage-related casualties stands at just 105. By this point in 2010, MortgageDaily.com had tracked 158 mortgage-related firms and businesses that had failed or closed.
REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT—According to the third quarter Manhattan residential market report released recently by Brown Harris Stevens, the average Manhattan apartment sale price of $1,437,302 was on par with last quarter and up just 1% from same period in 2010. As was the case with last quarter,
Rates were already low at the start of the quarter, but following the Fed's announcement last week, the national average rate on a traditional 30 year fixed rate mortgage has inched lower. Informa Research Services, a subsidiary of Informa plc (LSE: INF), encourages qualified homeowners to take advantage
The third quarter of 2011 came to an end this past Friday and it makes you wonder; where did the time go? One thing you're not left wondering is whether mobile will remain an important part of the technological and marketing landscape moving forward.
